I Timothy 6:7

1 Tim 6:7 “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.”

How great a truth is this, that we are born with no earthly possessions and we die with the same? Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 5:15 “As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.” And this is coming from one who is, perhaps, the richest man to have ever lived. I can think of few statements that are more freeing than this. How ridiculous does this make the world seem, when we are constantly bombarded with advertisements to buy random things we don't need, Hollywood endorsements of a useless way of life, and then the internet making it easier than ever for us to brag about what we bought. God will provide, even after He has provided His Lamb to free us from this world, He still provides everything we need in the world. Job says in 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” That is truth, and a testimony of what a godly perspective of the world should look like. It gives me so much joy to know that everything in this world is temporary; just distractions with which I no longer have to waste my time. “'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, therefore I will trust in Him.” I have chosen this verse (Lam 3:24) to memorize to remind me that my inheritance is in the Lord. I hope this will also remind me to shed any weights that I may acquire from time to time.

~Jeremy

I Timothy 6:7

I Timothy 6:7 reads “for we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.” Ecclesiastes 5:15 puts it another way saying as we came naked from the womb, so we will also return, despite any fruit from our labor, we are leaving with nothing. All work, possessions, belongings are counted worthless and left behind when I go to be with God. It’s very clear to me that I still don’t live this concept out in my life because I am still working on being content with what I have in this life, but verse 7 reminds me that none of it really matters in the end. Contentment should not even be an issue if I truly life out the fact that I’m leaving with nothing. In the end, it’s just me in front of God.

Romans 1:22-23 is a verse that will always give me chills, it’s a place I want to more regularly travel to when I am convicted of sin. It reads, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man.” Every time I find myself coveting, or grasping tightly to the fleeting things of this world I am saying to God, “I would like to serve Your creations rather than You,” I would like to focus on my desires, my interests, my belongings, my wants rather than the greatest gift you have given me and the truth that you will always provide me with what I need. I exchange the truth for a lie. Focusing on the tangible of this world really does cloud my time with the Lord. I find that I spend more time worrying about the things of this world rather than devoting my thoughts to all the ways God has provided for me in this world. I take it so lightly that I care about clothes, and my work,--believing the lie that it’s okay to ‘appreciate’ the gift, talents, and things God has given when really I have feelings above gratitude. Romans really puts I Timothy into perspective for me. I want to meditate of Romans 1 and how severe and foolish it really is to be so consumed with other things when my time is so short.

~Kristin